Author MarionBlack
2014
2
Premium
Rank 33186
Unfollow

Affiliate links are, well, ugly. This is what a typical affiliate link looks like

http://9ce91bn0-lipeu7g48jxzgp3pn.hop.affiliate.com/tid=PREFER

(It's not an actual affiliate link so it's OK to show it here.)

Social media sites don't like you using affiliate links. So how can you promote your affiliate company's products on social media and also on your website?

You can opt for an online shortening service like bit.ly or goo.gl but they still look ugly. And you have no control over them if your affiliate company drops you like a hot potato or goes bust.

Enter Pretty Link Lite. A free plugin which you can install from your WordPress dashboard.

One of the major advantages of using a pretty link is that if you need to change where the link is going you just need to change the URL in Pretty Link and you can keep the same pretty link wherever you've put it... on your website, social media...

Actual case history (only the names have been changed to protect the innocent): I was promoting a PLR membership website using mydomain.com/PDFs as the pretty link. Everything was fine for many months but then they didn't update their SSL certificate. My referrals were being redirected to the right website but their browser popped up a warning that the website was not safe. DANG! My solution? I found another PLR website with an affiliate program. I made one simple change in Pretty Link Lite and the link (mydomain.com/PDFs) is now pointing to a new affiliate program's sales page. You just can't do that with an online link shortening app.


OK. We've covered the 'Why' now let's cover the 'How'

First we install the plugin and activate.

Pretty Link Lite uses your website's URL with a suffix of your choosing. It's important to keep the suffix short - a single word - no spaces. You can choose something generic (PDFs) or specific like a product's model number (H390) if you've reviewed a particular product. I never accept the suffix that the plugin suggests - I make it something meaningful so I can remember what the link is about. e.g. http://blogwithwp.com/video

It's very important to ensure that your Permalinks show 'Post Name' as this is the format that Pretty Link Lite uses. For more details on WordPress settings check out WordPress Settings

Thanks for watching.


Related training:

WordPress Settings

Affiliate Link Image in Text Widget

Image Grid or Gallery With Custom Links


As always I'm here to help you,


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BojanaP Premium
Hi Marion! so I have a small problem with the pretty links. Followed and installed all as per Karl training and yours and they look great until I mouse over them in the web view, I keep getting 20% in between words so for example the link that I beautified would be: www.mywebsite.com/join20%wa or www.mywebsite.com/build20%website20%in200seconds
This definitely bugs me and it doesn't look nice after I followed all the training and installs just the final version is not good looking. i seen you have a good knowledge so if you could advise what I can change would be great!

Thanks in advance

Bojana
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MarionBlack Premium
The "20%" is code for a space. URLs don't have spaces only letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores. One of the main purposes of using Pretty Links is to make the link shorter. So instead of "join wa" your could use "join-wa" or just "join" and instead of "build website in 30 seconds" I would use "build" or "30secs". Another point to remember is that you can re-use your link to point to another URL. So it's best to not be too specific.
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BojanaP Premium
Thank you Marion thats helpful!
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SuzetteH Premium
What would you suggest for different banners if we were to use them within a post or page? Or do you recommend not using a banner within a page or post?
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Jim-Bo Premium
Marion, wonder if I can bug you again...

this time about aweber...

now imagine you have a plugin just like hello bar, (I'm sure you're familiar with that one), it's the one that is just about 50 pixels in height, to capture emails...

well, I have a similar one which is incorporated into my theme...it's cool, it's called "convertplug" and comes with the X theme.

now, my only issue when trying to put the aweber code into it, and I am sure it will be same with hello bar and other similar email capture plugins....

is that I only want the code, to link to the predefined settings...

however, when I get the code from aweber, and I hook it up to convertplug, the bloomin thing tries to show the horrible aweber template for the box....

Is there a setting inside aweber to get "just the code" and not the pre defined template boxes...

Hope u understand me rambling....

Thanks

Jimbo
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MarionBlack Premium
Umm have you created your own sign-up form at Aweber?
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Jim-Bo Premium
yes, but, there is no option (that I can see) to just get the code.

I know how to get the signup form for widgets...no problem there, cos u can adjust the style and width, etc...
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Jim-Bo Premium
I know marcus (did) use hello bar and I think he has aweber, too...

so it must be the same procedure....
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MarionBlack Premium
Send Marcus a private message. He's one of the good guys so he'll probably give you some pointers.
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Jim-Bo Premium
Cheers, Marion...

I'll do that now...

Live long and prosper.
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Jim-Bo Premium
Parameter forwarding and no follow...

I've had people telling me not to activate those ones, Marion...

What's the truth of the matter?

I heard that it doesn't matter if you check no follow, because google is going to follow what the heck it likes, anyway...

Also, what about the advanced settings? (I have the pro version of pretty link)

Thanks
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MarionBlack Premium
Parameter forwarding is not necessary. No follow won't hurt. It may prevent losing link juice. I'm not using the pro version 'cos the free one works just fine for my stuff.
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Jim-Bo Premium
Okay good stuff. A couple or three yay or nay questions...

1. Do you know what parameter forwarding is?

2. I will select no follow from now on...

3. Can I edit all my current links and click the no follow? Will there be any harm done?

Thanks Maid Marion

Jimbusoidus Reximillius
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MarionBlack Premium
I read about parameter forwarding a while back but I can't remember where (or when). Maybe ask Google. Here's the link for the Pretty Link tutorials https://blairwilliams.com/pretty-link/tutorial-signup/ (taken from the Pretty Link plugin's page in my website).
Here's something on YouTube https://youtu.be/iGyBjfUPTcc

Yeah, edit the Pretty Links. That's one of the things that Pretty Links has over the online link shorteners you can edit them, you can even change the URL that they're pointing to.
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Jim-Bo Premium
Thanks again Marion, bookmarked...
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WLG Premium
Hello Marion,

Thank you for sharing this valuable information with the community.I am most appreciative because I need All the help I can possibly get.I am slow to grasp things at times but I never give up.

I Pray that The LORD Continues To Shower His Abundant Blessing UpON You Always.It is an honor for me be a part of you WealthyAffiliate Family.Stay Blessed.

To God Give The Glory;
Praise His Holy Name;
Hallelujah and Amen;
Your Brother In Christ;
William
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NemiraB Premium
Hello Marion, thanks for training. I would like to ask what do you think about shortening link under images from Wikimedia Commons. They let use images but they ask credit the author. The link is really long. Can I use this technique to hide credit link under the image for blogs?
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MarionBlack Premium
Every image on Wikimedia Commons has its own licence terms. You must follow the terms of the licence to legally reuse the image. As long as you follow the rules I can't see a problem with shortening the link to the appropriate licence.
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NemiraB Premium
Thanks a lot for the answer, I follow rules, just I needed assurance and advice regarding shortening. All the best to you here, at WA, regards:)
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